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Clinton was right about this too

We refer to them as "Trump 's base" but really that "base" the true #cult45 bunch, that roughly one-third that won't go away, is simply a cadre of racist, sexist, homophobic, folks. They were there before Trump, and more importantly, they'll be there after Trump (assuming there is an "after Trump").

They are essentially white-supremacists who fear losing their privileged position in society. Trump didn't invent them. He activated them and gave them a voice. Of course he doesn't really care about them, and in fact, deep down I think even they know that. They know he lies and he is mostly full of shit and they probably even know he is basically incompetent and a Christian faker - in fact, many evangelicals have said as much. But they support him anyway, because he successfully tapped into that fear and racism. He may be an idiot, but on this he beat them all.

Consider this exchange between Jeffrey Toobin and Rick Santorum, where Toobin claims "Donald Trump could hang on the ceilings having sex with anybody he likes" and "all that talk about character we heard about Bill Clinton and the role model to Americans, that's all nonsense, right?" and Santorum can only reply that "it's very disturbing to me and I don't like it" but he still supports him, to make Toobin's point.

Few of them will admit that they're racists, and in fact many sincerely believe they aren't racist; that's how denial and cognitive dissonance works. But it comes through clearly in their words and actions, sometimes subtle, often direct and outspoken. We keep wanting to say it's not about race; we want to deny it because we wish it were not so. But it is about race to a very large degree.

It's certainly not all Trump voters. Hillary Clinton took shit for it and continues to but she was absolutely right when she said "half of Trump's supporters" (not all) really could be put into a "basket of deplorables" -- that basket is out there now and they aren't ever going to change their mind about Trump because he let them climb out from under their rocks and claim their white-privilege proudly. They feel safe with their racism now being more blatant. They still use coded dog-whistle language and (supposed) "hoaxes" like the white-power OK sign, but the winks are out there in plain sight. White-pride, white culture, white identity movements, these are all part of the discussion now.